Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

And what's my bold prediction for 2008? The NE Patriots will NOT win the Super Bowl! (I will post a tad bit more later, but wanted to get this up for the time stamp on the comments.)

Happy Xmas!

Unfortunately, I'm a bit under the weather. So this will have to be a short post.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful winter holiday and that Mother Nature is not wrecking too much havoc in your neck of the woods. And look on the bright side folks; it will soon be time for some downhill skiing fun!

I hope everyone has a magical, loving, happy Xmas! And, of course, a very merry New Year!

And here are a few rather funny Xmas cartoons:



For the dog people, Happy Xmas!



And for the cat people, all two of you, Happy Xmas!



And for Santa! (Caution, the next cartoon uses vulgarity)



[Cartoons found here and here]

Happy Turkey Day!

I just wanted to quickly post and wish everyone a very, very happy Turkey Day!





PS - Images taken from Funny Designs.

Checking in ...

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post. My apologies for not posting and, more importantly, not visiting and commenting. I guess when things stay busy for a while, it easily snowballs into a larger issue. In any case I hope to blog more very soon. And even though I have to keep this post a bit short, I must end it with two phenomenal songs:

Now I'm clearly not a fan of pop music. But, some pop musicians are just so talented that, with the right song, they transcend the genre. Alicia Keys is definitely such a talent. And "No One" is such a song.


I'm not sure, but I'm guessing "No One" is getting fair airplay on the radio. Hopefully this next song is getting it as well, but as an indie rock/folk rock band they might not be getting deserved airtime. In any case, this is a mesmerizing song that I could not recommend any higher. "Silver Lining" by Rilo Kiley.

Jon Stewart for President

Jon Stewart is my hero. And while I am, of course, half joking, I am also half serious. I'm not sure exactly how much press coverage Stewart's honest, incisive critique of Chris Matthews' new book (and of Matthews himself to a certain extent) is getting but I think it is a decent amount. Though I would hope it ultimately gets the same attention his 2004 remarks on (and about) CNN's Crossfire got.

In the end it is quite astonishing and also quite sad that the act of courage I am championing (and thrilled to have witnessed) was simply a television host (Jon Stewart) stating his honest opinion, telling the truth, and calling a TV personality (who happens to host a cookie cutter political views program) on the bullshit that so easily pervades cable and network TV (as well as much of the mainstream media).

And for those unfamiliar with Jon Stewart and The Daily Show, this isn't a gimmick ... Stewart and company have a track record of frank, genuine analysis (usually in the form of piercing satire) and inquiry. Before the Matthews interview, there was much buzz amongst the blogs and columnists over the incisively witty satire about Hillary Clinton's cringe-inducing, inauthentic strategy of laughter in her Sunday News Shows media blitz.

Here's the Chris Matthews interview:





Here's the Clinton Laugh Track clip:



In case the above embeds fail or the clips are taken down, you can also find the videos here at the TDS official website (unfortunately TDS' parent company Viacom has taken down the clips from YouTube). You can find the Matthews interview here. Unfortunately you'll have to do a little searching for the Clinton Laugh Track clip under the videos section. You can also try this link to milkandcookies.com and search for the vids.

And for those who can't watch the interview vid just now and want to read about the interview check out these two columns (Jennifer Pozner@Huffington Post and/or Greg Mitchell@Editor and Publisher).

A Quick Update

I just wanted to post this quick update. As many of you probably already know, there was a rally today in Jena, Louisiana to show support for the Jena 6. News sources stated the rally was about 15,000 to 20,000 strong. That is very impressive. And perhaps I'm late with this observation, but it seems this injustice is finally receiving the publicity and outrage it deserves.

As my previous update post mentions, even with recent actions by higher courts, the Jena 6 still need help. Amnesty International has been organizing great email petition campaigns and they have a new one asking the Dept of Justice (DOJ) to get involved and review the case. If you've acted through Amnesty International before (like one of the previous links in my previous posts on the Jena 6) then you simply enter your email and it will tell you if you have already taken this petition action before or not. The DOJ seriously needs to get involved, if for nothing more than to keep the spotlight (i.e. publicity and transparency) on the case. Also, with the incompetent and corrupt Alberto Gonzales no longer at the helm of the DOJ there is a significantly greater chance the DOJ will actually do something about it. Though the charges and case are indeed in state court. What I mean to say is that the petition is not asking the DOJ to take over the case (that is not possible nor prudent, proper, etc), but that the DOJ can investigate civil rights/equal treatment violations, as well as investigate the other incidents leading up to the Jena 6 fight and the actions the local DA has taken. Though even DOJ involvement might be lacking (though with greater public pressure and scrutiny this is less likely). Earlier the US Attorney for the region conducted a town hall meeting in Jena. While the US Attorney (Donald Washington) did make some insightful points (such as prosecuting juveniles for hate crimes would be completed in such a manner as to be invisible to the public; though I must say I find this a bit suspicious as well and I am having trouble finding sources through internet searches on what is the proper protocol of prosecuting a juvenile for a hate crime), I find some of his statements highly suspicious. None more so than stating at the town meeting that he found no evidence of unfair prosecution or sentencing of the Jena 6 (this isn't a direct quote so let's hope he was misunderstood). Washington also concluded that there was no legal connection with the noose incident and the Jena 6 fight (though he stresses that there was no 'legal' connection a prosecutor could bring up in court, this also sounds suspicious to me, and even without the noose incident there were the string of racially charged fights [white on black] that preceded the Jena 6 incident).

Once again an intended short post has turned long. I'll end it here.

Thank you

I just wanted to say thanks to Sage who was kind enough to pick my blog for a Nice Matters Award. Sage said some very kind things about my blog and I am so very grateful. For the few (if any) of you unfamiliar, Sage writes an amazing blog titled Musings. It is simply a wonderful personal blog that I could not say enough good things about. I think a blog's returning visitors say a good deal about that blog. Over at Musings you will find an incredible, eclectic mix of bloggers who read and comment regularly. It truly says a good deal.

I also want to say thank you to everyone who regularly reads and comments on my blog. I've posted these thank you type posts before so don't get too weirded out, lol. And, once again, my apologies for being a little lax in the blogging department these past few weeks.

And now, I'll end this post with a web video which just might be (in my humble opinion) the cutest web video ... ever. And I don't care if people think I'm gay or a cat person (nothing against cats, I just get along with dogs better), I mean seriously folks, can anyone deny the off the charts cuteness quotient of this lil' fella? (Special thanks to the lovely NYKat on whose blog I first viewed this vid.)



PS - Please read the following update post on the cases of Troy Davis and the Jena 6, two tragic injustices. Thanks.